DIFC aims to double number of firms in five years

DIFC said the number of active companies registered as of December 31 rose to 848 compared to 792 in 2010. The authority also said it added around 1 million square feet of commercial office space during the year.

Occupancy of DIFC- owned commercial offices is now over 95%, the centre said, while occupancy in the centre's retail space has climbed to 95% from 72% in 2010.

In terms of the geographical diversification of the centre, 37% of the registered companies come from Europe, 26% from the Middle East, 17% from North America, 11% from Asia, and 9% from the rest of the world.

"DIFC's achievements of recent years underscore our emergence as a global hub of finance and business," said Abdulla Mohammed Al Awar, CEO of DIFC. "Although the past 2 years were exceptionally challenging from a global perspective, the community in DIFC was resilient and this was noticed in the net positive growth in the number of clients that tapped into the DIFC during this period."

"We have the potential to double in size in the next five years, contributing to economic growth within UAE and the region as a whole," he added.